


How Fate Had Us Meet

by Secondprinces



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Chrobin - Freeform, M/M, but basically a collection of "first meetings" in a bunch of diff AUs, mostly fluffy, oneshots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-07-07 10:29:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15906450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Secondprinces/pseuds/Secondprinces
Summary: Basically a collection of independent one-shots where I write Chrom and Robin meeting for the first time in different AUs/settings or using different prompts.  Hopefully updated weekly.  Most of these will be fluffy, but I'll put appropriate warnings where applicable.





	1. Break In

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my twitter (@softpastelgrima) if you wanna chat Chrobin at any point! (and/or if you want to access my other links.) There's a possibility I may expand on some of these as stand-alone fics when I have more time/energy.
> 
> Table of Contents:  
> 1\. Break In -- Chrom breaks into the wrong house.  
> 2\. Get-Away Car -- Robin hires a LYFT driver to help him escape a bad family situation.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Break-in"  
> Prompt: Chrom breaks into the wrong house.

"You'll have to break into my house--" Gaius said.

Chrom blinked, unsure if the cacophony of the shopping mall had muddled his hearing. "Excuse me--what--"

The pair stood in the middle of the food court after getting their bearings at one of the maps studded along the hall. Christmas music spilled out over the speakers.

"Yeah, no, it's totally fine," Gaius said. He was already weighed down with shopping bags. "There's a window, you see--I'm pretty sure? Um, on the right side of the duplex. At least I think there is. I just moved in--"

"Why can't I just use your key?" Chrom asked. 

"Because my roommate and I only have the one key between us and he took it--" Gaius said. 

"So you're meaning to say you lost yours within two days of moving in."

Gaius chewed his lip. "I mean, you jumped to that conclusion on your own--" His laugh was a little too earnest. "Maybe Vaike lost _his_ key."

Chrom decided to let it slide. "Okay, fine... just, text me the address, and I'll do my best. You left the casserole in the fridge, right?"

Gaius juggled his bags to one side to clap his shoulder, then retrieved his phone from his pocket.  His thumb hammered away as he spoke. "You're a real pal! Yeah--it should be in the fridge. We can just meet at the party at this rate, and I'll finish shopping for the decorations and all the gifts. You wanted me to go ahead and get something from you as well, right?"

Chrom nodded, checking his phone as Gaius finished typing. "Sounds like a plan. Use your best judgement. Frederick would probably expect me to get him a new tie or a tie-clip or something along those lines, so that's a safe bet."

"I'll do my best, Blue." Gaius flashed him a big grin. "And don't worry about giving me a ride. I can take a Lyft or convince Olivia to pick me up on her way. Something like that."

"Right," Chrom said, returning the smile. He ignored the quip about his most recent dye job. Lissa had won a bet against him, and Gaius had been a little too eager to adopt the nickname. Maybe if he just ignored it.... "I'll text you if I have any problems. The window is unlocked, right?"

"Should be," Gaius said.

* * *

 

Chrom slowed his car to a roll in the cul-de-sac that his GPS directed him to.

"Nice neighborhood," he mused. He parked his car on the street and wandered out onto the sidewalk to get a better look at the numbers; winter had choked out any residual sunlight by mid-afternoon.

"2583," he said. "That should be it." He jammed his phone back into his pocket, fingers already numb from cold. His sigh came out as a heavy plume, crystallized in the glow of street lamps.

Rather than go to the front door, Chrom wandered around to the side not joined to the next house. As Gaius said, a window peered blankly back. The inside was dark on the first floor but, glancing upwards, Chrom noticed a few windows on the upper floor flooded with light.

"That's not great for your electric bill," Chrom murmured, as he wedged his hands underneath the window and heaved. It crunched open with little resistance. Carefully, Chrom eased the screen protector off and set it down on the ground. He scoffed at himself. "I sound like Frederick..."

Frederick would not be breaking into his best friend's house, more than likely, Chrom decided, as he slithered through.

He had the decency to shut the window behind him. Saving his heating bill, Chrom thought.

The interior was dark. Chrom fumbled along the wall until his fingers hit a light switch.

The apartment was mostly empty, save for boxes piled up in what would eventually become the living room. Chrom wandered past the stairs toward the kitchen, which was tucked into a tiny space overlooking a breakfast nook with a table that Chrom did not recognize. 

Vaike must have supplied that, Chrom thought. He whistled idly to himself, stepping over another pile of boxes and shimmying past open drawers and cabinets. How Gaius had managed to cook _anything_ in this kitchen's current packed state boggled Chrom's mind. He made a note to invite himself over later that weekend and give him a hand on unpacking.

Chrom wrenched open the fridge.

A dim light settled over a few carrots, a bottle of hard cider, and some cherries.

Chrom squatted down to get a better look.

He opened the crisper drawers only to find a bag of shredded cheese and an ipod shuffle, circa 2007.

"Um...." 

He closed the door and opened it again.  Stood again to peer on every shelf, then moved to the freezer. Empty. The oven--empty. Every cabinet? Empty.

How hard was it to find a casserole in an empty fridge?  Chrom sighed and opened the fridge again, staring blankly as he pulled his phone from his pocket to text Gaius.

"That doesn't work."

The hair on the back of Chrom's neck stood on end.

"Trust me, I've tried staring into the fridge. Nothing new materializes."

Chrom heard the fridge snap closed behind him as he rose and turned.

A man his age stood in the entrance of the kitchen, a tub of icecream under one arm and a spoon in the other hand.  He wore fuzzy socks over footy pajamas, hair a tousled white wreath on his head.

That wasn't Vaike.

"Who are you." Chrom said. "You one of Gaius's friends? Or Vaike's? What are you doing here."

The man set the tub on the counter. Compared to Chrom he was petite, about a foot shorter. His voice remained calm, though he grasped the spoon a little tighter. "I could be asking you the same thing?"

Chrom's phone buzzed. He glanced down at his hand.

_"Shit--sorry, it's Timber Drive not Court!!"_

Chrom blanched. "Oh god dammit." He let out a heavy sigh, laughing nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay, please bear with me, because this is going to sound like the weakest excuse ever, but, I broke into the wrong house--I mean--I wasn't _breaking in_ to rob--the owner of the house needed me to fetch a casserole and--" He winced and grit his teeth. "Yikes, that isn't a very convincing story, is it--"

Staring, the man did not move from the kitchen entrance. But then he scoffed, and his spoon-wielding hand relaxed by his side. "You would have had a better story if you were lying."

Chrom's laugh was weak. "Yeah, um, I'm really sorry about this...My friend gave me the wrong address.  He just moved in too...so there wasn't any furniture or anything to clue me in to my mistake." He could feel his cheeks flushing.

"I guess this is what I get for leaving my window unlocked..." the guy said. He set the spoon down with a sigh. "To answer your question, I'm Robin."

"Chrom." Chrom studied him, brow furrowed. "Really, I'm very sorry--this is--this isn't something that I normally mess up so horribly with. This whole situation is--"

"A mess," Robin said. "If I'd known I'd have a visitor, I would have dressed up a little." He gestured to his socks, but shimmied out of the way so Chrom could slink past him. 

"Now I have to go through the trouble of breaking into a duplex a few blocks down," Chrom said. He managed a laugh. 

"Do you...want to leave through the door this time?" Robin asked, pointing to the front door. "Rather than the window?" There was a certain wryness to his smile. An easy laugh followed.

Chrom felt his heart flutter. He coughed into his hand. "Yes. Right. Well, I'll be on my way--I'm sorry to have bothered you."

Robin opened the door. "Yes, you interrupted such important Friday night plans. I think I forgot to pause my netflix upstairs." He shivered as the cold seeped in.

Chrom hesitated and turned, studying Robin a minute longer, hand still on the doorknob. He glanced behind him at the mountains of boxes then back down at his socks. "Hey, if you're not doing anything tonight, would you want to go to a party with me? We'll have to break into a house for the casserole we're supposed to bring, but it should be a good time otherwise."

Robin blinked. "Are you inviting me on a date?"

"If you don't think it's too forward..."

Robin scoffed, but his eyes lit with the same smile that tugged his lips.  "I guess not. As long as you let me get dressed first."

 


	2. Get-Away Car

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin hires a LYFT driver to help him escape a bad family situation. 
> 
> \--
> 
> “You know,” the driver said. (Robin vaguely remembered him identified on the LYFT app as Chrom, owner of a blue Jeep Wrangler). “When someone scheduled a ride for 2 am, I was pretty shocked. I’m still pretty new to the app as a driver and I actually live in the next town over, but there aren’t exactly bars around here? Where are you headed?”
> 
> It took a few seconds for Robin to process the question. “Huh?” He blinked, letting out a sigh of relief as the light flashed green and they were moving again. “Oh, um, just somewhere.”
> 
> Chrom checked the app. “Somewhere? More like middle of nowhere. This isn’t even in town, is it?” This isn’t on a road…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure what the next prompt will be yet, but I'm open to suggestions! I'm learning towards an 80's roller rink au, though?

Crouched behind the trashcans between two strange houses, Robin stared intently at his phone as he shivered in a threadbare sweatshirt and tattered jeans.  Silence lay thick against the buzz of street lights and the croak of frogs. 

Robin rose as tires bit the pavement.

The car groaned as it was shifted into park.  Robin walked around to the passenger side, pocketing his phone, and motioned for the driver to roll down his window.

“You’re Robin, right?” the driver asked.

Robin glanced up and down the street.

All was still.  Not even wind shuffled the grass.

Robin glanced back at the driver.  “Yes.”

The driver was someone he’d never seen before.  Not unheard of—although this was a small town. 

The driver flashed him a warm smile.  “Alright, you can hop up front if you want.  I’m not that picky about it—“  He rubbed the back of his neck and waited until Robin was situated and buckled in before rolling up the window and heading toward the mouth of the cul-de-sac.

They sat in silence until the first light.  Robin gripped the door so tightly his knuckles turned white.  He peered out the window, squinting into the darkness.

“You know,” the driver said. (Robin vaguely remembered him identified on the LYFT app as Chrom, owner of a blue Jeep Wrangler).  “When someone scheduled a ride for 2 am, I was pretty shocked.  I’m still pretty new to the app as a driver and I actually live in the next town over, but there aren’t exactly bars around here?  Where are you headed?”

It took a few seconds for Robin to process the question.  “Huh?” He blinked, letting out a sigh of relief as the light flashed green and they were moving again.  “Oh, um, just somewhere.”

Chrom checked the app.  “Somewhere?  More like middle of nowhere.  This isn’t even in town, is it?”  This isn’t on a road…”

Robin bit his lip.  “It’s okay if you only drop me at the edge of town,” he said.

“The application has you paying for the full ride,” Chrom said.  “And that is the ride I will give.”  He glanced at Robin, eyes gentle but imploring.  “What’s the destination if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Probably a cornfield, knowing this area,” Robin mumbled.  He winced at the sear of oncoming headlights, but relaxed as the car turned onto another street.

This was not lost on Chrom.  His brow furrowed.

“You want me to take you to a cornfield in the middle of nowhere?”  He paused.  “You aren’t on the run, are you?”

Robin jumped.  He gripped the door tighter to prevent his hands from shaking.  “I’m not a criminal or wanted or anything like that.”

“You didn’t answer my question—“

Robin ducked down to the floor as headlights flashed through the rear window. 

“Seatbelt—“ Chrom said.

Robin scowled up at him. 

“ _Seatbelt_.”

He didn’t sit up until Chrom turned onto the country highway, out of the path of the headlights, which did not follow.

Chrom raised both eyebrows at him.  “Okay.  First of all, seriously, put your seatbelt on.  Second of all, I need to know what’s going on.  You’re acting really suspicious.”

The seatbelt clicked as Robin fastened it.  “Could you drive any faster?”

Chrom sighed.  “If you answer my question, maybe.”

Robin watched the grass rise into cornfields that sheltered the lonely, winding road.  A sliver of moon peaked from behind the clouds. 

Robin took a deep breath.  “My family doesn’t want me leaving.  It’s likely that as soon as they realize I’m missing, they’ll send people out to look for me and drag me back.  That’s what happened last time.”

“Your family…?” Chrom asked.  He noticed Robin was shivering, so he turned up the heat just a little.  “You’re not part of a mob, are you.”

“Ah yes, the mob rulers of the corn,” Robin said.

“Okay, you have a point,” Chrom said.  “What’s the deal, then?”

Robin bit his lip.  “They want to control my life.  They see me as an animal to be caged.  I’m breaking free and setting my own path, but this time I have to make sure I get far enough away that they can’t drag me back.”

The app told him to turn off onto a private road, which ended in a wall of corn.  Instead, Chrom left the car idling near the ditch that served as the shoulder.  He studied Robin closely, even as he pressed the ‘dropped off’ button.

Robin fiddled with his phone a moment longer.  “Don’t worry, I gave you 5 stars,” he said, offering a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.  “Thanks for humoring me.  I don’t have a lot of cash to spare, so I could only tip a bit.  I hope you’ll forgive me.”  He pushed the door open. 

“Wait.”  Chrom reached across to tug at Robin’s sleeve, though with very little force.  “Hey.  Just wait a second.  You—did you have a plan beyond getting good and lost on someone else’s land?  Do you even have food?”  Robin didn’t even have a backpack.

The door half open, Robin hesitated.  “Hm?  You don’t have to concern yourself with my problems.  This isn’t your responsibility.  You’ve done more than enough to help me out.  Really.”  He shivered as the cold seeped in.  “I just can’t be there another day.”

Chrom shook his head.  “You won’t last very long like this just—“  He rubbed his temples.  “Here, just—hop back in, okay?  Wait a minute, yeah?  It’s kind of chilly out.”

Slowly, Robin tugged the door shut.  “I promise you that I’ll be fine.  I’m resourceful.”

Chrom scoffed and shifted the car back into drive.  The car shuddered and lurched forward, back into the road.

“What are you—“

Chrom shut the app off. 

“If you’re kidnapping me—“ 

Chrom turned up the heat another couple of notches.  “No.  You’re free to tell me to pull over and you’re free to get out.  But, I’m asking that you don’t.  I’m asking that you allow me to take you to the next town over—it’s a big enough town that you’ll have more prospects.  I’ll even let you stay at my place a few nights or however long you need to. Just anything to keep you out of his cold and this dark.”

Chrom continued down the road another few minutes, shoulders tense as he waited for Robin to tell him what to do.  When Robin did not speak, Chrom glanced over.

Robin was staring pointedly out the window.  This time his shoulders shook from muffled sobs instead of cold.  He clutched the door for dear life.

“Are…you okay?” Chrom said.

Robin swiped an arm across his nose.  Sniffled.  Shook his head, though he did not look at Chrom. 

“It’s okay,” Chrom said. 

“Why are you doing this,” Robin finally managed, voice barely a whisper.  “You don’t even know me.  Even those closest to me essentially told me that I was on my own.”

Chrom swallowed a lump in his own throat.  “Honestly.  Because I’d be up all night wondering if you were okay.  And I’d probably break down in less than 24 hours and go out looking for you.  So…to save myself the trouble…”

Robin managed a weak laugh in spite of himself.  “Fair—fair enough…”  He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and finally looked at Chrom.  “Okay, for your peace of mind, I accept your offer.”

“Great!” Chrom said.  He coughed into his hand.  “Okay, so, first things first—seatbelt back on, yeah?  Oh, and what kind of music do you like?  I have a lot of CDs if you look under the seat.  Most of it is 80’s but it’s all good, I swear.  And we’ll pick up a pizza or something on the way in, so you can get something in your belly, but it’ll be about an hour before we see civilization again.”

Robin fastened his seatbelt and reached down to leaf through the cd sleeve.  He picked one out and popped it in without looking.  80’s synth pop pealed out through the speakers.

The car moved steadily through the night, a pocket of warmth in the dark.

Robin bit his lip.  “Hey, um, thanks.”

Chrom flashed him a grin.  “Think nothing of it!”

 


End file.
